Carb Intake Planner (Cutting vs Bulking)
Turn your body weight and goal into daily carb grams
Carb intake, cutting vs bulking and common questions
Why plan carbs from grams per kilogram of body weight?
Using grams per kilogram (g/kg) helps scale carb intake to your body size instead of giving one number for everyone. Larger, more active people usually need more carbs than smaller, less active people. Sports nutrition position stands often describe carb ranges in g/kg for training and recovery rather than in fixed gram targets.
What’s different about cutting, maintenance and lean bulking carbs?
In a cutting phase, many people use lower carb ranges so it is easier to stay in a calorie deficit while still supporting training. Maintenance usually sits in the middle, and lean bulking uses higher carb ranges to fuel harder sessions and support a small surplus. The exact bands vary, but the pattern—lower for cutting, higher for bulking—is common.
Does this tool know my ideal carb range?
No. The calculator uses simple, generic g/kg bands for each goal. It cannot see your blood tests, medical history, diabetes risk, or training volume. Think of it as a starting point and then refine it with a professional who knows you, especially if you have metabolic or endocrine conditions.
Is low carb always better for fat loss?
Not for everyone. Some people do well with lower carb intakes, while others feel and train better with moderate carbs and controlled calories. What matters most for fat loss is a sustainable calorie deficit, enough protein, and a plan you can actually live with. Quality of carbs—fibre-rich, minimally processed foods—matters more than simply removing all carbs.
Do these numbers replace advice for diabetes or blood sugar issues?
No. If you live with diabetes, prediabetes or other blood sugar problems, carb targets often need to be individually set around medications, CGM or meter readings, and medical advice. Use this planner only if your clinical team says generic macro tools are okay for you.
Can I change carbs over the week instead of eating the same every day?
Yes. Many people keep higher carb days on heavy training or leg days and lower carb days on rest days, while keeping the weekly average around a target. This page shows a daily starting point; you can build higher and lower days around that with a coach or dietitian.
How important is carb quality compared with gram totals?
Both matter, but quality is easy to overlook. A day of carbs from fruit, vegetables, beans and whole grains will usually support health and training better than the same grams from sugary drinks and ultra-processed snacks. Use this tool for grams and your shopping list to focus on quality sources.
How to use this carb intake planner for cutting, maintenance or bulking
This page turns body weight and goal into a simple daily carb target so you are not guessing every time you log meals. It is built as a planning helper, not a medical or performance prescription.
1. Choose units and add your current body weight
Start by picking US (lb) or metric (kg). In US mode you enter weight in pounds; in metric mode you enter kilograms. Use your current weight, not a goal weight, so the g/kg bands line up with where you are today.
2. Pick a simple goal: cutting, maintenance or lean bulking
Next, choose whether you are mainly focused on cutting (fat loss), staying roughly where you are (maintenance) or lean bulking (slow muscle gain with controlled fat gain). The calculator uses different g/kg bands for each to reflect typical carb needs in those phases.
3. Add a short note if you want to tag the plan
The optional note field lets you tag this setup as “mini cut”, “off-season bulk” or “race block”. That label appears in the copyable summary so you can tell plans apart later if you create several over time.
4. Read your suggested daily carbs and goal table
When you tap Plan daily carb intake, you will see:
- A suggested daily carb target in grams for your chosen goal.
- An approximate low–high range for that goal, based on simple g/kg bands.
- A small table that shows midpoint carb targets for cutting, maintenance and lean bulking with your current weight.
You can keep the suggested number as your daily default, or use the table to adjust if you feel you need a little more or less.
5. Copy the summary into your tracker or plan
Hit Copy summary to grab a short text version with your weight, goal, suggested carbs and range. You can paste this into a macro tracker, training log or note for your coach or clinician so everyone is looking at the same basic numbers.
Remember that this is a starting point, not a verdict. If you have diabetes, heart disease, kidney disease, an eating disorder history, or other medical issues, your safe carb range may be narrower and should always come from professionals who know your full picture.
How the carb intake math works
The calculator keeps the math transparent: it converts your weight into kilograms if needed, applies simple grams-per-kilogram bands for each goal, and then rounds to easy whole numbers.
1. Convert body weight into kilograms if needed
If you enter weight in pounds, the tool converts to kilograms using a standard factor:
Weight (kg) ≈ Weight (lb) ÷ 2.2046
All carb ranges are calculated per kilogram and then converted into total grams per day.
2. Use simple g/kg bands for each goal
For each kilogram of body weight, the calculator uses a low and high end for daily carbs depending on your goal. In simplified form:
Cutting: lower g/kg band
Maintenance: middle g/kg band
Lean bulking: higher g/kg band
These bands are intentionally broad. Real-world plans often tweak them up or down based on training volume, hunger, and how your body responds over time.
3. Turn g/kg bands into gram ranges
Once weight in kilograms and the g/kg band are known, the tool calculates:
Daily carbs (g) = Body weight (kg) × Carb band (g/kg)
It does this for the lower and upper ends of the band to give a range, and also takes the midpoint to give a single suggested daily target.
4. Round to simple whole numbers
The results are rounded to the nearest small whole number so they are easy to remember and use in a tracker. In practice, you are unlikely to hit these numbers exactly with whole foods, and that is fine—the range is more important than the last gram.
As with any macro planning, this math is best treated as a guide you adjust. If your energy, training quality, recovery or blood work are off, work with a professional to move carbs, calories and other macros into a better spot for you.
References and further reading on carb intake and training phases
These resources discuss carbohydrate roles, typical intake ranges and quality of carb choices:
- International Society of Sports Nutrition — Nutrient timing position stand — describes recommended daily carbohydrate intakes for athletes in g/kg/day and how training load changes carb needs.
- Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health — Carbohydrates — explains different types of carbohydrates and emphasises choosing fibre-rich, minimally processed sources most of the time.
- Mayo Clinic — Carbohydrates: How carbs fit into a healthy diet — summarises general guidance that carbohydrates often make up a substantial share of daily calories and highlights the importance of carb quality.
Use these as broad background reading and pair them with individual guidance from your own healthcare professionals or sports dietitian, especially if you have medical conditions or high training loads.